HE EVEN WALKS ON WATER!

· INTRODUCTION: Good evening! Tonight, we have the opportunity to examine Mark 6:45-52 together. Mark 6:45-52.

o This is one of the most famous miracles of Jesus. I don’t know about you, but walking on water seems like it would be pretty amazing. I’d rank it right up there with your car being able to fly as things I’d like to see!

§ In the Wonder Working God, Jared Wilson makes a point about this passage that the Hebrew people saw the seas as spooky places with all sorts of monsters in them. They did not like being far away from shore if they could at all avoid it.

§ I know that Kraken aren’t real now, but there are still things that scare me. What about you?

· Fortunately, for us, as we will see from Mark 6:45-52, JESUS IS BIGGER THAN ALL OUR FEARS!

· BODY: This week as we continue going through the book of Mark, we pick up right after the feeding of the 5,000 that we saw last week.

o If you recall, Jesus was preaching and teaching a crowd. This crowd was made up of 5,000 men, plus women and children.

o As evening came, the people were hungry and the disciples were concerned because there was not enough food for them.

§ Not to worry though, Jesus had it under control! Jesus took the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and he broke them, prayed for them and they fed the entire gathering of people!

· What a sight to see!

· This week, as we start our study of Mark 6, we read, “Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.”

o Jesus leaves the 5,000 after he finishes teaching them and feeding them. Notice why; he leaves so that he can go up on the mountain to pray!

§ I can’t emphasize enough how much prayer matters! Here our savior GOES AND PRAYS!

§ Prayer is so important! Our savior who is fully God prays! So should we!

· Listen to just a few of many quotes from CH Spurgeon on prayer. He said, “We shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.”

o Prayer matters! Prayer must be of utmost importance to us!

· Here’s another one. “If a church is to be what it ought to be for the purposes of God, we must train it in the holy art of prayer.”

o We must understand prayer! It’s going to God and talking to Him, but I think sometimes we don’t consider the gravity of what we are able to do!

§ Brothers and sisters, we are able to go to the LIVING GOD OF THE UNIVERSE, who created each and every one of us and talk to Him!

§ What is there really to say? That’s AMAZING! So therefore, our prayer life should be marked by praise and thanksgiving!

· Don’t you agree?

o It’s one of the reasons why we open and close in prayer! It’s not just words; we get a chance to TALK TO GOD! HOW AWESOME IS THAT! IT JUST PUMPS ME UP!

o We see that Jesus prays and we see that his disciples begin a journey. Let’s look at verse 47 to see where they go.

· “And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and he meant to pass by them,”

o Jesus is alone on the land, but let’s be clear, he has not been forgotten! He tells the disciples and the crowds to go! He dismisses them.

§ See, Jesus is FULLY GOD AND FULLY MAN. No human can constantly be surrounded by people all the time! We all need to have time alone with God! Daily time alone with God is so powerful! Wherever you are in life; whether you are having the best time of your life, or if you feel like there’s a new low everyday, we need to make a point of spending time in GOD’S WORD!

· God’s word is what nourishes us! We wouldn’t try to live life not eating or drinking! It would be the same if we tried to live the Christian life without reading scripture and praying!

· So let’s pray and spend time with God every day!

o Let’s imitate our savior in that! It may mean that we have to sacrifice watching Netflix in the evening or that we get up earlier in the morning, but let’s do it! Time with God is SO WORTH IT!

o In the meantime, as Jesus is praying, the disciples are sailing. It’s the early morning, sometime between 3 and 6 AM.

§ At that point in time, Jesus sees that they aren’t making headway easily and he begins to come to them.

· I know that sounds casual, but our jaws should ALWAYS drop! JESUS WALKS ON WATER!

· I tried that, almost every time I entered a pool as a kid. Guess what; that isn’t humanly possible!

o In fact, scientists have attempted to come up with how Jesus did this. Their proposition? The lake was frozen. Which of course means that the boat wouldn’t be able to sail at the same time.

§ Here’s the simple explanation of how this miracle happened.

· JESUS IS GOD! JESUS IS GOD! That’s the answer! Jesus is all-powerful just like God!

· Jesus is literally walking on water! How would you react to that?

o We see that the disciples react in verse 49. “But when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,”

§ Wouldn’t you cry out? I would! That’s CRAZY! JESUS IS WALKING ON WATER!

· 4 of these men have spent their lives on water as fishermen. They know full well that you CANNOT walk on water!

Additionally, imagine how terrifying this would be if one of your greatest fears was the water and the sea!

This would be terrifying! You’d think of every single horrible legend you’ve heard of!

Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. Take a second, think of something you are afraid of. I mean like absolutely terrified of! Now, imagine that it starts to happen! That’s where the disciples are!

· Verse 50 says, “For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

o The disciples see him and are terrified. The last time we saw the disciples in a boat, Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith.

§ This time, Jesus comforts them! Jesus tells them to take heart.

· We could think of this as Jesus saying, “Be still. It’s all ok.”

· Jesus is comforting their anxieties.

o Remember, they thought there were sea monsters that could eat them! They were genuinely terrified! They aren’t just pretending and it isn’t just them!

o Their people did NOT LIKE SAILING ACROSS THE MIDDLE OF THIS SEA!

· Now, verses 51 and 52 show us the conclusion of this situation. They say, “And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.”

o Jesus gets into the boat and the wind that is blowing against the boat ceases! Things are calm!

§ The disciples are confused though! Their hearts are hardened. It is not yet time for them to understand. God is sovereign over this.

· It may seem like they just don’t get it; and they don’t. But, they don’t get it because it is not time for them to understand yet!

· God has HIS TIMING for this and that timing is NOT NOW!

o Now, if you’ve heard this story before, you may be wondering why Peter isn’t mentioned by name here.

§ Jared Wilson has an interesting proposition on that in his book The Wonder Working God.

· Wilson proposes that this is because of Peter’s humility!

o See, it is believed that Mark heavily relied on Peter for eyewitness information as the Holy Spirit led him to write the gospel of Mark.

o So, Peter here may be choosing to leave out his role because this story isn’t about Peter failing to have faith; it should really be aobut how JESUS IS GOD!

§ Peter’s role in walking on water is always secondary! Both while he did it and afterwards! He could only walk on water BECAUSE of God and ultimately, it is all about showing the GLORY OF JESUS!

o Whatever the exact reason that Peter is left out of this passage, Mark 6:46-52 is a POWERFUL example of one of the most important truths we could ever know; the truth that JESUS IS GOD AND THAT HE OVERCOMES ALL THINGS!

§ O that we would never lose sight of that truth!

· CONCLUSION: Jesus is God! Now, what does that mean for us today.

o GOSPEL- JESUS IS THE CURE FOR ALL OF OUR FEARS!

· Additionally, I think that this should challenge us to deepen our faith and the way that I want to challenge us to do that today is in our PRAYER LIVES. This entire situation is set up after Jesus goes off to pray. So, let’s take some time to examine prayer!

o Prayer is something that is so simple that I think sometimes we overlook talking about it

o Prayer is simply us talking to God!

§ That’s easy! Prayer is also SO MUCH MORE!

§ Prayer is a key opportunity for us to WORSHIP GOD AND FOR US TO ALIGN OUR HEARTS TO GOD!

· See, as we pray, we should be worshipping God and PRAISING GOD for what HE HAS DONE FOR US!

· Prayer is a great way for us to praise God! Of course, we can pour out our needs and our hurt AND OUR FEARS AS WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR MESSAGE, but we can also PRAISE GOD FOR THE MANY WAYS THAT HE HAS ANSWERED OUR PRAYERS!

§ Secondly, Praying is a great way for us to align our will to God!

· As we read scripture, we grow in our understanding of God. But, that’s not all. As we pray, we should also be consistently praying the things that we see in scripture.

o Whether it’s for opportunities to live out our faith, or if it’s that God would teach us and give us a heart of wisdom as Psalm 90:12 says, there are many things that we can pray for as we seek to align our desires with God’s Will!

o I want to be clear, this isn’t simply about saying, “I pray this if it is your will,” it’s about genuinely submitting our desires to God with open hands and saying, “Lord, I truly trust you!”

§ I want to challenge us as we pray tonight to truly submit our wills and our desires to God and to TRUST HIM WITH THEM!

· Let me pray for us.